1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to educational, scientific, and/or amusement models. In particular, the present invention involves a working circulatory heart model that is geometrically accurate with respect to corresponding anatomical structures.
2. Background to the Invention
The human heart is one of the most intriguing organs of the human body. Although only weighing about one pound, the heart pumps about one million barrels of blood and beats 2.5 billion times in a 70-year lifetime. However as a biological pump that pumps 2,000 gallons per day, most people lack a basic understanding of the form and function of the heart including the routing of blood from and to the major vessels. Moreover, people are generally unaware of how flow is directed through the ventricles of the heart during systole and diastole and how the valves of the heart work in synch to provide directionally oriented flow through the closed circuit corresponding to the circulatory system.
Prior art models although useful in indentifying the anatomical structures of the heart, do not provide a means to simulate the pumping action of the heart including a means to displace the volume of fluid within the ventricles and to visualize fluid displacement in a way that is highly analogous to actual heart function including valve function. The present invention therefor aims at providing a physical working model of the heart that is highly analogous to an actual human heart in terms of both geometry and function as a fluid pumping system. The same design techniques and principles may be applied to additional embodiments for models of the hearts of other mammalian and non-mammalian species, as well as hearts exhibiting different medical conditions and states of health.